New Delhi [India], Apr 24 (ANI): Gujarat gang-rape victim Bilkis Bano on Wednesday thanked the Supreme Court for its order to compensate her with Rs 50 lakh.

"I want to say that I am very thankful to the Supreme Court," she said while addressing a press conference here.

"It has been a very painful period of 17 years for me," Bano said.

On April 23, the top court directed the Gujarat government to pay a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the victim.

Bilkis Bano had sought exemplary compensation from the state government, refusing to accept its offer of Rs 5 lakh.

The apex court also directed the state government to provide Bilkis Bano a government job and accommodation as per rules.

In March 2002, Bano was gang-raped and left to die alongside 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter, during the Gujarat riots. She was five months pregnant when rioters attacked her in Vadodara. (ANI)